Marley's Twisted Arranged Marriage

It was the last full day that Grace was going to be here. Her flight would leave at eleven in the morning the next day, so she was supposed to leave for the airport around nine-thirty in the morning so she would have enough time to get to the airport, check in, and board her flight on time.
Needless to say, I was spending every second with her today.
We’d basically already caught up on our lives without each other. I told Grace about how Conrad and I got to where we were in our relationship, obviously leaving out the inappropriate details.
The thing that really made me happy was that Grace was finally making friends. She told me all about this boy in her class who’s new to school this year, so she took it upon herself on the first day of school to show him around. His name was Eric. She told me they ate lunch together every day and always played together on the playground. Sadly, though, since Grace was here Monday and Tuesday, he would have to eat lunch and play with other kids from their class.
I think I saw a future love interest for my little sister.
As Grace and I sat in the game room and watched Up, I couldn’t really focus on the movie. I was starting to plan out my sister’s wedding. Albeit it was kind of difficult to imagine the whole ordeal since I had absolutely no idea what this Eric boy looked like.
As I slowly focused back into reality, I realized Grace was wailing into her hands. I panicked for a moment before I realized she was just crying because the man’s wife had died in the movie. I moved my hand to her back and patted her a few times. She sniffed and wiped her eyes.
“It’s so sad! Why did she have to die and leave him all depressed and angry like that?” She wept and continued watching the movie since I didn’t have an answer for her. She had seen this movie at least a thousand more times than I had, so shouldn’t she have the answer?
She dabbed at her runny eyes a little more, and continued to watch the screen while quietly reciting each line that was spoken.
The door to the room swung open and Conrad poked his head in. His eyes landed on me immediately and a smirk stretched across his lips.
“I’m going to take you out tonight, so you need to get dressed and whatever else.”
That surprised me. Ever since Conrad and I had gotten together we hadn’t gone on any dates. What was with the sudden change of mind?
“I know, I know. I haven’t taken you out at all since you got here and you’re probably wondering why I want to go on a date now. You’ll see later,” He grinned at me.
“Now chop, chop! We need to be out of the house by seven!” He clapped his hands in an ushering manor and I jumped off the couch.
“Did I just hear the word ‘date’?” Caroline yelled excitedly from the hallway as she burst into the room.
“Yes, Mom, now if you’ll excuse us, Marley has to—“
“Can I help her get ready?”Caroline interrupted excitedly. She was practically bouncing off the walls with how happy she was.
“Why don’t you ask her yourself? I’m going to go get ready.” He cut his gaze to me and gave me a mock-stern look as he jabbed a finger to me. “You better be ready by seven o’clock sharp, and wear something nice.”
Conrad flashed me a quick grin before stepping out of the room, and closing the door behind him. Caroline was staring at me with a hopeful expression and I could tell Grace was confused.
“Marley…” Caroline began. I didn’t fail to notice the eagerness in her voice.
“You know I can’t say no to you.” I interrupted her before she even began to beg me to let her dress me up. And, on the plus side, I wouldn’t have to worry about picking out any makeup shades or anything. I never had any knowledge in the department of choosing things that matched.
She beamed even wider, if possible, and I could tell she was already calculating my outfit in her head.
“Marley, what’s going on?” Grace asked me while I watched Caroline with amusement. She was mumbling to herself, trying to figure out what she wanted to dress me in.
In that short time that it had taken for Conrad to tell me he was taking me out, I had forgotten it was Grace’s last day here. I promised her I was going to spend every second of it with her since the next time she would be coming out here to see me would be at the wedding. Although it wasn’t too far off, it was still a little over a month that I wouldn’t have my sister. It felt like right when I got her back, she was just going to be pried away from me once more.
“I’m going to go tell Conrad that I can’t go on a date with him tonight because I’m too busy spending the rest of the night with you. That’s what’s going on,” I said as I rose from the couch and started toward the door. Caroline had stopped mentally clothing me and was gaping at me.
“Wait!”
I stopped mid-step and turned to Grace. She looked at me with a big grin in her face.
“I want you to go on the date with him. It will be lots of fun! But, I have one condition,” She said. I was shocked at her selflessness. Usually she would jump at any chance to be with me. I suddenly realized she was maturing without me. She was taking initiative and being independent while I wasn’t around.
“What’s your condition?” Caroline asked for me. I swear she was more eager for my date than I was.
“I get to help you get ready.”
A grin blossomed on my face and I swept her up into a bear hug.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you! I love you so much! You’re the best little sister I could ever ask for,” I exclaimed and let her out of my grasp.
“I want you to be happy, Marley. And I know Conrad makes you happy.” She smiled at me and I mirrored her expression.
“Alright, well if you want to be ready on time then we need to start right now!” Caroline chimed in eagerly.
***
I showered and scrubbed my body down with vanilla scented body wash, then shaved. As soon as I stepped through the curtains and wrapped a towel around my torso, Caroline whisked me out of the bathroom and sat me down onto the edge of the bed. I was shivering since I was still sort of damp and I felt way too exposed in front of Caroline and my sister.
“Do you have any dresses in mind for tonight?” Caroline asked me as she towered over me. Usually, she only stood to about my height, but since I was sitting down she was like a nerve-wracking sky scraper.
I sifted through my closet mentally and remembered the dress I wore to my Prom during senior year. Although, I didn’t get to stay long before the girls who were supposedly my friends tormented me until I left. I settled on going to IHOP in my nice dress and getting a plate of pancakes. Needless to say, I got some pretty weird looks for going to a pancake house looking like I’d just walked the red carpet.
“I do have a red dress I wore—“
“Red would clash awkwardly with your hair. Don’t worry, I have a dress for you,” Caroline interrupted and scurried out of the room.
“Does she do this kind of stuff a lot?” Grace asked me after a moment.
“She’s always wanted a daughter to dress up, so I let her dress me up sometimes. She’s really good with matching things together and she knows how to do makeup really well.” I said. A shiver ran down my spine when a gust of ice cold wind hit me and I desperately wanted to put on some clothes.
“You can just put on some regular clothes for right now. We’ll put you in the dress last so we don’t spill makeup on it or anything,” Caroline said as she set a large bag onto the bed. I assumed the dress was inside it, but I couldn’t tell since it was zipped up to the top.
“Can we see the dress?” I asked as Caroline set down her bag—more like suitcase—full of cosmetics. She placed another bag next to it, that was equally large, and it was filled with jewelry.
“I want it to be a surprise, so no,” Caroline replied and gave me an innocent smile. I sighed dramatically even though I should’ve seen that kind of reply coming.
With that, I stood and grabbed a pair of shorts and a tank top to go along with them. I went into the bathroom and changed then brushed my hair, and left it wet and cascading down my shoulders. Caroline came into the bathroom and ordered me to sit in the vanity chair that was parked under a small table made for doing hair and makeup.
“Let’s start with makeup.”
That’s all Caroline said before she came at me with a pair of tweezers, surely ready to pluck my eyebrows to oblivion.
But I definitely should’ve known Caroline better than to do that. I knew she wouldn’t make me look bad, especially since I was going on a date with her own son. I trusted her to make me look decent.
The unfamiliar pinching and plucking feeling came to my eyebrows and it made my eyes water a little bit with every little pull that she did. I just wasn’t used to the feeling.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Grace was looking through Caroline’s bag of makeup and grinning at every pretty color she found. After she would gaze at each item, she would gingerly place it back into the bag and find another to fawn over.
It was pretty darn adorable.
Caroline tweezed once more and brushed her fingers against my forehead to try to give my eyebrows a shapelier look, and finally pulled herself further from me to inspect more thoroughly.
“Golly, have you ever plucked your eyebrows before?” She asked in disbelief. Although, I was too busy laughing at the fact that she’d just said ‘golly’ to actually be offended.
“Anyways, let’s get started!” She clapped her hands together excitedly and lugged the bag of makeup over beside me and I caught a glimpse of at least seventy-five different colors of eyeliner. If that was just the eyeliner, how much makeup did she have in total in that bag?
She rifled through the cosmetics for what seemed like forever until she found a black eyeliner pencil, produced by a brand I’d never even heard of. But it sounded pretty fancy, and that’s all that matters, right?
She uncapped the tool and almost set to lining the rims of my eyes until she stopped with a sudden realization.
“I should do foundation first, shouldn’t I?” She asked rhetorically and set the pencil aside before digging around for a bottle of thick liquid that matched my skin tone. She also decided to get a nice rose colored blush out.
After uncapping the goopy fluid, Caroline poured out a large mass of the foundation into her hands and rubbed them together, starting toward my face. She was none too gentle when she spread the coloring over my features, trying to make it look perfectly finished and blended. When all the foundation was broadened across my face, she swiped her hands with a towel and picked up the blush. She opened the cosmetics bag once more and inside was a small sleeve filled with all different kinds of brushes and makeup applicators.
She found a simple black brush and swiped it across the pink coloring, bringing it to my cheeks. “Make fish lips for me,” She suddenly demanded.
“What?” I asked, thrown off guard by her odd command. She stopped inches away from my face and demonstrated what she meant by sucking in her cheeks so she looked like a fish.
“I know what you mean, but why?” I questioned.
“It helps the blush go on the right part of your cheek bones. Now suck in those cheeks!” She ordered once more, and this time I did as I was told.
Once I made fish lips, she swept the feathery brush over my cheek bones and it kind of tickled. I ignored the feeling and continued to focus on keeping my lips like a fish.
“Okay, you can stop now.”
I puffed my cheeks back out and enjoyed the feeling of them returning to their normal state. Caroline picked up the black eyeliner from earlier and opened the cap, nearing my face with her hand.
I closed my eyelids and shortly after doing so, felt the pressure of the tip of the black pencil lining around my eyes. She drew the utensil across my eyelid very slowly so she could be precise about the line she was making.
“I need you to open your eyes and look up at the ceiling,” She voiced, momentarily breaking the silence that had been brought up in the room. I did as she said and noticed Grace standing next to Caroline and watching with interest in her eyes as Caroline traced my lash-line.
She capped the pencil once more and tossed back into the bag. She then dug around for an eye shadow and took out each color to inspect in her mind if she thought it would look okay with the rest of my outfit.
She finally settled on a dark grey-silver that was nearly as black as the eyeliner around my brown eyes. Caroline plucked another brush from the pouch, this one made for eye shadow, and began to smudge it across my eyelids.
After that was finished, she put the eye shadow back in its spot and turned her scrutinizing gaze back to me. I nearly fainted from her penetrating gaze. She inspected me so carefully and determinedly that I felt self conscious.
“You look great. Now we have to get started on your hair. Did you have anything in mind?” She smiled at me before taking my hand and lifting me from the small seat I was sitting in.
“Not really. I want you to choose since you obviously know how to make me look amazing,” I said truthfully and watched as Caroline’s smile turned into a beam. She embraced me with her small arms before pulling away and grabbing a brush, pushing on my shoulder to sit me down.
She raked the brush through my wet and tangled hair until it was to its full length and so smooth I could run my fingers through it without running into one single tangle.
Grace stood leaning against the doorway, watching what was happening with a smile. Her smile was happy, but I swear there was a bit of knowingness showing in her features. Like she knew something I didn’t.
“Grace, why are you looking at me like that?” I asked carefully as Caroline started putting different products into my hair to make it look healthier and shinier. She usually wasn’t very great at keeping secrets. Most of the time, all I had to do was ask her what she knew and she’d tell.
“Nothing.”
She looked slightly uncomfortable for a second before putting back on the smile of mischievousness.
“Is it something about me?” I decided that breaking it down into many individual answers may lead me to the conclusion.
“Yes…” She answered warily.
“Is it bad?”
She pursed her lips in thought for a moment and my heart accelerated in my chest. Was it Damien? They had been spending time together since she’d arrived here. Maybe he told her some kid of sick plan to try to make me like him and threatened her to not tell anyone. But, why would he go through all the trouble of telling her if she wouldn’t be able to tell anyone, anyways?
“Not at all. I just wanted to make you freak out by putting a dramatic pause there, but it didn’t work.” She frowned at me before cracking a small smile.
She’d never know how much she actually worried me.
“Funny,” I said before rolling my eyes playfully.
“I have an idea for what to do with Marley’s hair.” Grace changed subjects so quickly and smoothly I’d barely even realized she did. That is, until I found myself back to wondering what it was she was hiding from me.
Caroline shifted her gaze to my little sister and smiled at her softly. “Oh, what is it?”
“Well,” She started as she strolled over and stood behind me, grasping my hair in her petite hands and twisting and adjusting it different ways, explaining to Caroline as she did so.
I tuned out everything she said, though. It didn’t really matter to me what it took to prepare my hair since I wasn’t the one doing it. Instead I started to wonder why Conrad had a sudden change in mind in taking me out on a date.
Was he planning on dumping me? Isn’t that usually what boys did when they wanted to break up with their girlfriends? They would take them out to a nice and romantic dinner, take a stroll under the stars, and finally, just when you make the girl the most content girl ever, you break her heart. What I didn’t understand was, what’s the point in spending all the money and time on a nice date when you knew it would end terribly?
“That sounds great! Where did you learn that style?” Caroline gushed as she attempted to copy the twists and turns Grace had done on my hair. Caroline shrugged modestly, her pinks tinged red.
“I don’t know, I just picked it up somewhere….” She trailed off.
By then, my hair was completely dried so Caroline styled my hair like Grace had taught her.
My hair sat just above the base of my neck in an elegant bun. My bangs stayed in front of my face, straightened and swept over so they tucked behind my ear. Grace stumbled upon a sparkly black headband that was set on my head, just on my crown.
At least, that’s what they described it to me as. I wasn’t allowed to look at myself in the mirror until I was completely finished being made over.
Caroline snatched my hand up into hers and examined my chewed up and ruined nails. She sighed dramatically and shook her head at me.
“What am I supposed to do with you?” She asked jokingly. My face flushed and I dipped my head in embarrassment.
She giggled at my reaction and began filing at my nails. I relaxed back into the chair and Grace plopped down onto the closed toilet next to my seat.
“Are you excited for tonight?” She asked, making small talk.
“Of course,” I replied, just as a dozen butterflies were let loose into my stomach. I knew it was nearing seven….
“You should be.”
There it was. That feeling that she knew something I didn’t. It was something I wasn’t sure whether to be worried about or not. I hoped she was just trying to psych me out before my date.
I decided to ignore it.
“Which color do you like better?” Caroline shoved two different bottles of nail polish into my hands, one a bright blue and the other a dark pink. I liked the blue more so I handed her that one and Grace took the pink from my hands, discarding it back into the makeup bag.
Caroline unscrewed the cap and set to coating my atrocious nails that had instantly become better looking after she filed and scrubbed at them. Grace started on my other hand with the same color doing surprisingly well for it being her first time painting someone’s nails.
I began to wonder what Damien had been up to lately. I hadn’t seen him since the day Grace had gotten here and I’d nearly beat him over the head for telling her inappropriate things. Grace told me that she was having a lot of fun being around him. Apparently he had a side of him that was actually charming. I trusted him enough with her because I knew he would do anything to make me happy and he knew that I would rip off his most precious and private possessions if he ever laid a finger on my little sister.
Caroline and Grace finished painting my nails and Caroline began to touch up my makeup and hair, just to make sure it stayed absolutely perfect, while my nails dried.
“Are you ready to put on the dress?” Caroline asked, practically jumping with excitement. Sometimes she acted more like a teenager than I did.
“I think so. Are you sure my nails are dry enough? I really don’t want to ruin them after how long it took for you guys to pant them,” I muttered.
“They’re fine! We can always retouch them if something happens.” Grace assured me, squeezing my hand once.
I mumbled an okay as Caroline bounded over to the large dress bag and swiftly pulled the zipper down. I wasn’t able to see the dress yet because she had turned so the back of the dress bag was facing me.
A gasp escaped my lips as my eyes landed on the gown she pulled out. The dress was a deep plum purple and would probably reach to my knees. It was a one-shoulder dress so I would be showing skin, but still being elegant while doing so. It was completely form-fitting and I had a feeling it would probably be like wearing another layer of skin. On the one strap, black sequin littered the fabric, being the one decoration on the dress. It was absolutely stunning.
“I’ve never even worn it. I feel like it would go to waste if it just sat in my closet, so I want you to have it. You would work it far better than I ever would, anyways,” She said as she took in the expression on my face with a grin. She offered the dress to me silently and I reached for it gently, as if it would perish if I grabbed it too roughly.
The material was soft and smooth and I was glad for that fact so I didn’t have to last the night in an uncomfortable dress.
“Oh my goodness! It’s already 6:30! We need to get you some nice jewelry and send you on your way,” Caroline gasped as she read the clock and urged me into the bathroom to put on the dress.
I found the zipper on the back of the dress and unfastened the evening dress. I laid it down very carefully on the counter top so I could undress from the clothes I was already wearing. As I stripped to my undergarments, I became more nervous for mine and Conrad’s date. The only question that ran through my head was why does he suddenly want to take me out?
I pushed the matter aside for the time being and focused on getting into the dress. Now that I really looked at it, I realized it seemed a little small for me. I really didn’t want to attempt putting on the dress and end up tearing it. That would be embarrassing.
I slowly turned the knob to the door and as I pulled it open just enough for my head to peek out, it squeaked and Caroline and Grace fell silent.
“Caroline, I’m not sure this dress is going to fit me.” I chose to ignore the fact that they went completely hushed when I was able to hear them without the door being a sound barrier.
“It’s going to fit, I promise. If it really is too tight on you then we can find you something different. But please just try it on,” She pleaded, and I couldn’t say no to her.
I heaved a sigh before shutting the door and turning to face the dress.
I picked up the dress and turned it in my arms over and over again as if it would just magically slide onto my torso is I flipped it around enough times. After a few minutes of doing so, I let out a breath before grabbing the top of the dress and lowering the gown so I could step into it.
I tugged the material up my legs as the silky thread caressed my freshly shaved legs. I finally got the dress to come all the way up to my chest and slipped my arm into the sleeve. I’d never worn a dress with only one strap and it felt slightly uncomfortable to have one shoulder slightly covered while the other was completely vulnerable.
I placed a hand on my dress to help support it since I wasn’t able to reach the zipper and slowly exited the bathroom, skipping looking in the mirror.
“Can you zip me up?” I asked to nobody in particular after bounding out the door. After a moment, I felt gentle hands grasp the small zipper and slowly pull it up, encasing me in the dress. It was slightly tight, but not entirely uncomfortable.
I dropped my hands to my sides and tilted my chin up, inevitably meeting Caroline’s stare as she was standing right in front of me. She placed her hands on my shoulders firmly and made me keep her gaze.
“You look beautiful.”
Those three words made me smile and my heart heated up. I guess I never noticed how nice it felt to be noticed until I came here. The Mooresons always made me feel better about myself.
“Thank you, Caroline. If it weren’t for you and Grace I’d be walking out that door right now wearing a pair of old jeans and a shirt. So thanks for helping me with my fashionably inept self.” We laughed together as Caroline began to lug over her bag of jewelry.
“Okay, I don’t think we should do too much jewelry because then you’ll look over done. Are you okay with that?” Caroline said. I never knew a girl could look ‘over done’. But who was I to question Caroline when I knew absolutely nothing about looking trendy?
“Whatever you want to do is fine. I won’t question your decisions.” I replied with a smile. Caroline then began to dig through her bag as Grace plopped herself down in front of me on the edge of the bed.
“Don’t be nervous for tonight. You’re going to have lots of fun and everything will be perfect. I promise.” She looked up at me with her emerald green eyes and gave me an assuring smile. I didn’t know why, but I trusted her word. It was an unexplainable relieving feeling when she spoke those words, but I couldn’t sense why since she couldn’t predict the future. She didn’t know what would actually happen. So why did I suddenly trust her words?
“Do you like this necklace?” Caroline help up a ribbon with two rows of pearls on it, the top was grey and the bottom row white. They were connected to a pure, satin black ribbon that served as the chain to hold around my neck.
“It’s really pretty,” I told her truthfully. She put it aside for the moment and decided a sweet smelling perfume would be nice to wear. She plucked one out from the makeup bag and poised her hand on the pump, aiming the other end toward me. She squeezed the pump and a sickly sweet scented mist covered my neck. I obviously chose the wrong time to breathe in and it caused a huge coughing fit.
“Sorry, I probably should’ve warned you I was going to spray it,” Caroline admitted sheepishly. After sobering up, I gave her a reassuring smile and braced myself.
“Go ahead, spray it again. I’m ready this time.”
She did as ordered and sprayed the perfume once more, but this time I didn’t inhale as she did it.
“Now we just need to get you a pair of heels, and we’ll be finished!” Caroline clapped excitedly. Unlike the last time she’d suggested heels, I wasn’t scared. I was more experienced in walking in them than I was last time I’d attempted to do so. This time, I was confident I wouldn’t fall.
“I have a few pairs of shoes that would look good with your outfit in my closet. Grace, would you like to come with me to see which pair would look best?” Caroline offered, holding out a hand for Grace to take. Grace looked up at me with questioning eyes and I shot her an encouraging smile, urging her along with Caroline.
“Go ahead, I’ll be fine.”
That was all it took for Grace to latch onto Caroline and follow her out into the hallway.
I wasn’t left alone for very long, though. After a mere minute of silence, I heard someone approaching and I poised for action, just in case it was Conrad. If it was him, I was going to close the door before he could see me. I didn’t want him to see me until we were about to leave for our date.
“Marley? Are you in there?”
My thoughts were proved true when it was Conrad’s voice sounding close to the door. I frantically searched around the room for something to hide behind until I saw a scarf hanging on the corner of the dresser.
I snatched up the scarf and hid behind the open door just as Conrad stepped into the threshold.
“I’m in here, but don’t look. Just walk forward and I’ll do the rest.” I said. I wasn’t able to see the expression on his face since the door was inbetween us but I’m sure it was priceless.
“Okay…” He trailed off uncertainly. He stepped forward and stared straight forward at the wall, keeping his promise not to look. I closed the door and wrapped the scarf around his eyes like a blindfold.
“Why can’t I see you?” He asked in a pouting voice. I rolled my eyes at his childish behavior and went to stand in front of him. “Is it because you’re naked?”
He desperately reached for the scarf, but I slapped his hands before he could tear it off. “No, I’m not naked! I just want you to be surprised when you see me is all.” I said and pushed his hands back down to his sides. He stuck his lower lip out in a pout and I couldn’t resist when I caught his lips between my teeth teasingly.
“Ow! See, this is why I need to see what’s going on around me! People are free to surprise attack me all they want,” He complained. I knew he was trying to get me to feel bad that I was blocking his vision so he could ruin the surprise and see me now, but I wasn’t going to feel any sympathy for him.
“You’ll live.”
“I don’t think I will. I’m going to die now, and it’s all your fault, Marley! You took my vision away from me! How do you feel about that?” He put the back of his hand to his forehead dramatically and heaved a long sigh.
“Stop fussing, you’ll be fine! It’ll be worth it when you see me later and you’ll be glad you waited.” I rolled my eyes playfully at his dramatic conduct.
“It better be worth it, or else I’ll punish you.” He whispered seductively in my ear. I tried not to let it affect me like he wanted it to.
“Oh, and how will you do that?” I flirted back innocently as Conrad snaked his arms around my waist, letting his hands slide down and cupping my bottom.
“I’ll lock you in here with me and do anything I please with you,” He replied huskily. He groped my butt and my eyes widened and a gasp escaped my lips, surprised he would make such a bold move with his own mother and my little sister due back any moment.
A smirk stretched across his lips when he heard my intake of breath and he didn’t bother to take his hands away from my bottom.
“Remind me again why I can’t see your beautiful face?” He asked after a moment.
“I want it to be a surprise! Just be patient. You don’t have to wait much longer.”
“Are you nervous?”
“Not at all.”
I decided to play it cool and lie. If he knew I was freaking out, he’d either taunt me or spend the next ten minutes trying to assure me nothing would happen.
“Really? I know I’m nervous.” He confessed it so breezily, as if we were chatting about the weather.
“Why are you nervous?” I asked.
“I love you so much, Marley. I don’t wanna screw things up. I want everything to be absolutely perfect for you. I only want you to have the best.”
I bit my lip nervously and peered up at where his sky blue eyes would have been, but were replaced by a leopard printed scarf. He was nervous because he cared so much about what I thought? I’d never been so touched by what anyone had said to me. But that was the thing, Conrad the power to do anything to me. He could make me happy just by smiling at me, he could make me mad just by ignoring me.
He could make me feel breathless just by looking at me with those piercing blue eyes.
At that moment, I was kind of glad he couldn’t see my expression because I never wanted anyone to see me as vulnerable as I was. Not even Conrad—the man I would be spending the rest of my life with.
“I love you, too.” I whispered and kissed him softly.
The light kiss didn’t last long until it turned into a make out session. I slowly walked forward—which was backward for Conrad—until he was standing at the foot of the bed.
I lightly pushed him down and he did as commanded, sitting on the bed. I crawled on top of him on my knees and straddled his lap, our faces at the same level.
I traced the curve of my nose up his curt jaw line slowly, taking in every curve and dip along the way. His hands wrapped around me, to make sure I didn’t fall backward and mine braced his shoulders. He shuddered in a pleasant manor and his arms grew tighter around me.
I planted a feather kiss below his ear lobe and drew back to look at him. His lips were slightly parted and looking as kissable as ever as he breathed deeply, struggling to contain himself. I had to give him credit, he sure knew how to hold himself together for being a playboy his whole life.
Our noses were inches away from each other and his warm, minty breath fanned across my face every time he exhaled. I pressed my lips to his one last time, very softly, and placed a hand on his cheek.
“You’re amazing,” I whispered, suddenly regretting putting the blindfold over his eyes. If it weren’t there, I would have been able to see what emotion he was really feeling.
He smiled softly at me, bringing a hand up to cup the back of my neck. “And you’re beautiful.”
“I’m sorry, are we interrupting something?”
The new voice startled me and if it weren’t for Conrad’s arm around my back, I surely would have fallen off the bed. I turned around and there stood Caroline and Grace, both wearing smirks on their faces.
“Is that my mom?” Conrad asked me incredulously.
“Why is he wearing a blindfold?” Grace countered.
I didn’t answer any of the questions, just climbed off Conrad and took his hand, leading him to the door.
“I’ll be ready in five minutes. Wait for me downstairs,” I said as I let Conrad keep walking out of my room. He turned around so his back was to me and slipped the scarf off.
“Sure will.”
With that, he took off down the hallway back to his room.
I shut the door and faced Caroline and Grace. They only smiled at me before brushing off the past incidences and holding up a pair of heels.
“Now, these are an inch higher than the ones you wore to the mall when we went together, but I think you can handle them considering how quickly you adjusted to those heels.” Caroline informed me. I nodded my head and she laid them down in front of me. I slipped my feet into the shoes and started to pace around the room to get used to the feeling of heels once more.
“Great! Now I just have one last thing to do,” Caroline pulled a tube of lipstick out of the pocket of her dress pants and popped the cap off, gliding the color over my lips.
“Now that you’re ready, take a look in the mirror.”
I slowly sauntered over to the full length mirror in the corner of the bedroom and, almost uncertainly, looked at my reflection.
My eyes were dark and, not being used to this dark of makeup, looked foreign on my face. It still looked amazing though. My cheeks had a lasting tinge of pink on them, which contrasted greatly against my ivory skin. The pink lipstick that had just been applied added a nice flair to my outfit. My fiery hair was tamed and pulled back into a low bun that sat on the nape of my neck and a diamond encrusted black headband sat on top of my head, even though it served no purpose since my bangs were still covering my forehead. The dress was completely form-fitting, but accentuated my curves, making my hips look wide and my whole torso curvy. My nails were polished and a nice blue that stood out against the dress.
“Do you like what we’ve done?” Caroline asked hopefully.
I pivoted around and threw myself into her, embracing her in my arms immediately.
“Thank you so much. You don’t understand how happy I am to have you.” I whispered into her hair. She hugged me back.
“No, honey, thank you. For opening up to us and loving us as you do, given the reasons you’re here in the first place. I know my son loves you so much and I know you love him too, and all a parent ever wants to see if their child happy. And that’s what you make Conrad—happy.”
I was nearly in tears. Not tears of sadness, but tears of happiness and relief—relief that she accepted me even though all I’d done when I arrived here was push them away and try to hate them. But trying to hate them was like trying to hate junk food—you just can’t live without it.
I released her, still fighting off the tears since I didn’t want to ruin my makeup. I turned around and was immediately tackled in a hug by Grace. I just about fell over from her throwing all of her weight into me, but at the last moment I balanced myself.
“You look gorgeous, sis. Promise me you’ll have fun tonight,” She mumbled into my dress as she peered up at me through her mesmerizing green eyes. They were wide and innocent.
“I promise I’ll have fun.” I smiled down at her before squeezing one last time and releasing her.
“What’s taking so long?”
Conrad’s shout was heard all the way through the house from downstairs by the front door. He’s so darn impatient!
“I guess that’s my cue to leave,” I bid adieu to my sister and Caroline and began to walk through the corridors. My heeled feet clacked against the hard marble floors as I grew closer and closer to the stairwell.
I couldn’t help but feel like someone was watching me.
I tried to ignore the creepy sensation of eyes on me and kept my head high, slightly picking up my pace to the stairwell.
It seemed like an eternity before I reached the peak of the steps, where Conrad stood at the bottom, facing the front door and continuously checking his watch for the time.
He looked absolutely dashing in his suit and tie. It may have just been a simple coat and chunk of thread hanging around his neck, but he seemed to work the look so well that I suddenly wished he’d only wear suits and ties. The plum purple of the smooth tie matched my dress near perfectly and contrasted well against his jet black coat and slacks and white undershirt. His hair was the same as always—sexy and disheveled the way I liked.
“Come on Marley, we have to—“
He finally turned around and caught sight of me, dropping the sentence immediately and his eyes widened, his mouth falling open.
I smiled at him, suddenly remembering all the nice things he’d said to me earlier. Everything he said to me came straight from his heart and I knew he loved me just as much as I loved him.
I finally realized we’d be together forever.
I descended the steps, one at a time, and Conrad started climbing up the steps to meet me halfway.
“I… I don’t even know what to say. You look…”
Conrad shamelessly let his eyes roam my body and for once, I felt confident. I didn’t feel like shying away from his heated gaze or wrapping my arms around my body to hide myself. I felt good enough for him to actually look at me.
I felt good enough for him.
A smile fell on my face and I brought my pointer finger up to his chin, lifting his head to meet my eyes.
“Shall we leave?” I asked in a posh accent. He grinned at my childishness and took my hand in his, beginning to descend the steps.
“Marley, you forgot the necklace!”
Grace came barreling down the steps toward us and Conrad stuck out his arms to stop her from tumbling down the stairs.
“You never put on the necklace,” She said once she stopped on the step above me, holding out the pearls to me.
Before I could reach out for the jewelry, Conrad snatched up the necklace and loosened the tied bow on it. He motioned for me to turn around and I did so.
I felt his warm hands brush across my skin as he placed the necklace around my neck and tied the ribbons into a perfect bow. Tingles ran down my spine, their starting point where his hands lingered. I pivoted around once more to face him and he smiled at the new addition to my outfit. He then leaned down and kissed Grace’s forehead sweetly. Grace blushed and wordlessly pulled her other hand from behind her back, revealing a small black clutch purse that looked like a suede envelope.
“It has all the usual things you take in your purse. Caroline threw it together while you were in the shower, but we forgot to give it to you.” She smiled up at me through her scarlet cheeks as I placed a hand on the clutch.
“Thank you.”
She nodded and winked reassuringly at me before skipping back up the stairs and down the hallway she came.
“Are you ready?”
I shifted my gaze back to my boyfriend and nodded my answer, placing my hand into his and slowly trekking down the stairs.
We exited the house through the front door hand in hand, and immediately the freezing air bit at my skin. The only warm part of my body was the hand that was connected with Conrad’s.
“I’m sorry; I should’ve realized it would be this cold. Do you want to run in and grab a coat?” Conrad asked as he noted my incessant shivering. I shrugged and looked back at the house. We were already at the car and I doubted Conrad would be taking us to a place where we’d be stuck outside.
I knew I didn’t have any kind of coat to match my dress, and I felt like enough of a bother to Caroline as it was. I finally shook my head in answer.
“I’ll be fine. Just turn the heat on full blast when we get in the car,” I replied through a smile. He chuckled and pulled open the car door for me. I said thank you and climbed in, seating myself comfortably on the ice cold leather.
He hurried around to the other side and immediately shoved the key into the ignition, warm air filling the car quickly. I sighed in content.
As I leaned back into the seat, breathing deeply and letting the comforting warm air surround me, I felt Conrad’s gaze on me. I struggled to ignore it before a smile cracked into his solemn expression and he turned forward and shifted the car into drive.
Well, that wasn’t weird or anything….
The car ride was silent, apart from the radio purring soft mainstream music I’d heard so many times before. I quietly hummed along to the songs I knew whilst staring out the window.
The road we were on had only two lanes since only the Mooresons and guests of them traveled it. It led from the mansion to smack-dab in the middle of Los Angeles.
The setting sun illuminated beautiful pink, orange, and purple colors behind the pure cotton-like clouds. It gave the trees around us an ominous look. I’d bet those trees were filled with creatures once the sun goes down.
After a few more minutes of coasting down the concealed road, Conrad made a left turn onto Hollywood Boulevard. I didn’t know what buildings were on this side of town since any time I’d left the house, we’d always turned right.
I eyed Conrad in my peripherals while I pretended to be intrigued by the large palm trees surrounding the road. He kept fidgeting in his seat, his hands drumming nervously on the steering wheel and shifting constantly in his seat. If I hadn’t known better, I’d think he was going to break up with me.
My heart plummeted at that thought. I remembered earlier when I’d been so nervous about this date because I thought he’d been so worked up over dumping me. I’d convinced myself that he wouldn’t do that to me—take me out on a beautiful date just to be leaving alone. But now, I wasn’t so sure.
I had no more time to dwell on the subject since Conrad had pulled into the driveway of a classy restaurant and shifted the car into park in front of a valet. He climbed out of the car and came around to my side, unlocking the door and allowing me room to get out.
I gazed up at the large, elegant building with brightly lit cursive writing on the top, spelling out some French name. The valet was crowded with cars that probably cost more than my life. As I gazed around at the different people, I was silently thanking Caroline and Grace for dressing me, otherwise I’d had come here in a nice blouse with some jeans and been completely underdressed for this type of place.
The women wore formal dresses of all shapes, sizes, and lengths. Not one dress was normal looking. They all glittered under the artificial lights that shone down from the cover we were under. I noticed the heaps of paparazzi standing behind red ropes, crowding to the front to snap pictures of people walking by. As I looked at the people they took photographs of, I realized many famous people were among us.
“See that woman right there?” Conrad said in my ear, placing on hand around my waist and picking the other hand up to point at a tall woman with beautiful, curly brown hair. She was poising for the surrounding cameras while walking to the front doors of the restaurant.
“Yes, why?” I asked.
“That’s Brooke Shields. She and my father are good friends since she starred in one of his movies,” He whispered in my ear. There was no reason to whisper since nobody would be able to hear us over the noise.
“And can you guess who that is?” He asked me, pointing to yet another flawless woman, striking poses for the cameras. I studied her face when she shifted our direction.
“Is that Mariah Carey?” A hint of disbelief sprinkled my words.
Conrad chuckled at me in response, his cool breath tickling the base of my neck. Conrad nodded once before straightening out his posture and slipping his hand into mine, leading us toward the doors.
Once we reached the area where the paparazzi were practically killing each other for the best shots, my stomach rumbled—half in hunger and half in nervousness. I’d never been very photogenic.
I struggled to shove the fears aside as we grew closer to the gossip-hungry beasts. I always heard bad things about paparazzi—that they’d do anything to get the latest scoop. What if they took a gruesome picture of me and put it on the cover of a magazine for the whole world to see? I prayed that wouldn’t happen.
Conrad must have noticed my hesitation to walk any further, because he stopped and turned to face me, his face incredibly close to mine.
“Don’t be nervous just because those idiots are here. The paparazzi won’t bother you if you seem to be uninterested in them; they want their questions to be answered so they can blow things out of proportion and make up their own rumors. So, if you just smile and wave and keep walking, they’ll realize they shouldn’t waste their time asking questions.” As he said this, his eyes pierced into mine with such an intensity I wanted to faint.
I nodded mindlessly and he closed his eyes as he slowly kissed my forehead.
“Are you ready?” He asked once he pulled away.
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” I replied unsurely. I took a deep breath and we walked side by side through the paparazzi.
I made sure to have a large, toothy smile on my face before we stepped in front of them. Blinding lights flashed from every direction and they seemed to close in on me as more camera men grew interested in us.
“Conrad, where have you been lately?”
“Is this your newest toy?”
“What’s her name?”
“Is her hair dyed or is that real?”
“How long before you find a new girl?”
“What happened to Bethany?”
It was question after question and with each one I grew increasingly flustered. It was difficult to keep the smile from slipping off my face, and even more difficult to just ignore the questions flying at me from everywhere. I wanted to scream “I’m not a toy, I’m going to marry him!” But that seemed rather odd to me.
A hand shot out and gripped my upper arm, pulling me toward the sea of sleazy paparazzi. Conrad was tugged with me and he flipped around to see what was happening. His eyes narrowed at the person pulling my arm and he stalked closer, leaning over me to talk to the captivator.
“Get your hands off my girlfriend this instant,” He hissed. I glanced over my shoulder and saw an old man with greasy, thinning hair was the person trying to pull me into the crowd.
His grip loosened slightly, but not nearly enough for me to get away from him. He had no response.
“Did you hear me? Let her go or I’ll personally escort you out of this restaurant. Don’t you know you’re legally not allowed to touch anyone here?” He was seething anger and his hand tightened around mine.
The sleazy man let go of my arm and sent a quick glare my way before squeezing through everyone around him and out of the crowd. Not many people seemed to notice our conflict.
“Are you okay?” Conrad asked me once everything went back to normal.
“Yeah, just a little surprised. I didn’t think anything like that would happen,” I admitted.
“It usually doesn’t but sometimes they get upset when you don’t answer their questions and act rashly. Are you sure you’re okay?”
I nodded and smiled a little at his persistence.
With a little hesitation, Conrad grinned back and we turned to enter the restaurant.
The inside was just as posh and fancy as the outside. The walls were pure white while the tables, booths, and chairs were all coal black. Large, crystal chandeliers hung from the high ceilings and echoes from everyone’s mindless chatter reverberated off the walls and ceilings. The plush carpet beneath my feet was a smoky grey color. My feet sank into the ground with each step I took.
“Reservations for two under ‘Mooreson,’” Conrad informed the host standing at a small podium, a forced smile on his face.
“Right this way, Mr. Mooreson,” He led us through the restaurant to a small table with one chair on either side of the table. I noticed this table had a bright pink rose on it, whereas the tables around us didn’t.
Conrad snatched the rose up and handed it to me in a kind gesture and I smiled at him before taking the rose and placing it so it was in my hair, resting on my ear. Conrad’s cheeks turned the lightest shade of pink before he pulled out my chair for me.
I grinned and bit my lip to hold in the laughter that wanted to escape. Conrad never, and I mean never, blushes. He never really gets embarrassed over anything, so the fact that he was getting embarrassed put a whole new perspective on tonight.
“What do you think you want to eat?” Conrad broke the silence between us, his eyes reading back and forth over the menu. I hadn’t even realized we had menus.
I opened the menu and my eyes widened when I realized everything was written in French.
Every. Single. Word.
I began to panic slightly. I knew how this all went down, it always happened in the movies. I’d keep staring at the menu until a waiter comes and, too proud to ask for help, I’d order the first thing I’d see and vomit in my mouth when it was set in front of me.
A look of terror must have settled itself onto my face, because Conrad suddenly smirked a little and asked, “Need some help translating?”
I peered up at him through my lashes and realized he’d had his head propped up on the palm of his hand, watching me this whole time. His menu was set under his elbow, folded shut.
“Maybe a little,” I admitted sheepishly. His smirk grew in size and he held out his hand, silently asking for the menu. I complied without hesitation.
We spent the next few minutes deciphering what each item was on the menu, and I found myself surprised he was able to speak the foreign language.
Once I was decided on what I wanted, I set the menu down on the table and placed my head in my hand, gazing at Conrad. He did the same.
“Where did you learn to speak French?” I asked, interested in learning all I could about him.
He shrugged, trying to act like this was no big deal, but we both knew just how modest he was trying to act.
“My grandmother was French born. She migrated here when she was just sixteen, and she slowly learned English, but French had always been her first language. She taught it to Mom, and Mom always spoke French to us when we were younger. I guess I just kind of picked it up.”
I liked the way he said “Mom” instead of “my Mom”. It made me feel like she was already my Mother, even though Conrad and I weren’t even married. It brought a smile to my face.
“That’s really interesting,” I replied with, only because I didn’t know what else to say.
A silence settled in between us, even though it wasn’t actually silent. There was calming music playing through the entire building, and when I peered behind Conrad, I realized there was a small stage with a piano placed in the middle. On the bench was a middle-aged man perched on the edge, his fingers gliding effortlessly over the keys.
There was mindless chatter coming from the other occupants of the room. I vaguely recognized some voices as celebrities, but didn’t want to look around to find them. I was sure they came here to not be haggled by their fans.
My stomach growled viciously at me and I pressed my hand against my midsection, think that maybe it would stop if I kept my hand there.
Conrad turned his head from the table next to us to me, where he stared at me. His smoldering blue eyes were gazing so intensely at me that I finally looked away from the piano player and into his eyes. He breathed out a large huff of air and stood to his feet.
I didn’t even have time to be confused until he came to my side, offering out his hand to take. Questions started to run through my head as I set myself on my heeled feet. Were we leaving already?
He released another great breath and took both my hands in his. People started turning their heads in our direction, and I blushed from all the attention.
I turned my head away from the other civilians and faced Conrad once more. I waited for him to say something. We obviously weren’t leaving since we were just standing next to the table, but what the hell were we doing?
“Marley, I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time, I just didn’t know how, or when.” He slowly lowered himself to one knee, not breaking eye contact with me at all. Everything around us fell silent, all eyes landing on us. Waiters froze in their places, the Bus boys quit wiping down tables, and customers suspended their forks in mid-air, halfway to their mouths just to see if this was really happening. Even the piano player stopped playing tunes.
“I love you. I don’t any other way to say it than that. I absolutely adore everything about you. I love the way you wake up in the mornings and your hair is matted and messy. I think it’s beautiful any way it’s put. I’m in love with your laugh, and I love it even more when I’m the one making you laugh. I think your light skin is cute, especially since it’s easier to see when you blush. Your blush makes me want to kiss you all the time. I love your stubbornness, even if it does get hard to deal with sometimes. The way you tease me makes me insane, but it keeps me wanting more from you. I can’t ever get enough of you. I guess what I’m trying to say is,” He paused while he dropped one of my hands and rummaged around in his pants pocket. He pulled his shaking hand out and slowly let go of my other hand, taking a small, black, suede box into both of his hands to he could open it. Inside the box, placed delicately between two cushions, was the most beautiful piece of jewelry I’d ever seen. The ring was all pure silver, the band containing numerous small diamonds around it. Right on the top were three diamonds in a row, the two on the outside smaller than the one in the middle. The lights on the ceiling gave the ring a glint that added effect.
“Will you marry me, Marley?”
There was a collective gasp as tears sprung in my eyes. Was this what being in love was like? Feeling like nothing in the world could stop you and like all you needed was the other person. My heart was fluttering in my chest and it felt like my stomach was going to shrivel up inside me with nerves.
I bit my lip to keep the tears from pouring down my face. I didn’t want to ruin such an amazing moment by crying.
But, unfortunately, something else ruined the moment. Or should I say someone else.
“Stop!”
The cry cut me off from replying to Conrad, who was still on one knee, holding out the ring to me. He shifted his gaze to see who was trying to object to this moment.
It wasn’t much of a surprise when Damien appeared in our vision.
“Marley, what are you doing? I thought you loved me. Why are you here with him?” Damien’s questions tumbled out of his mouth. He was really beginning to make me want to kill him with all of these incessant annoyances.
“Damien, leave before I do something I will regret,” Conrad’s voice was low and dangerous. I was intimidated by his words, and I wasn’t even the one receiving them. He stood up to his full height, facing his brother. He had shoved the ring back into his pocket.
Damien went to grab for my hand, “Alright, Marley, let’s leave.”
I pulled my hand back in disgust. Why did he think he owned me? What made him believe I had the slightest of interest in him?
“Quit it! Just stop, Damien!” I yelled. I didn’t even care that everyone was watching this happen, or that people were taking pictures that would surely be on the internet in minutes.
Okay, maybe I cared a little.
Damien’s face changed into hurt, and if he hadn’t pissed me off so many times, I might have actually felt bad for him. But by now, all sympathy I had for him was gone.
“I’m sick of this constant chasing after me. You can’t fight for me, Damien. I’m not yours to fight for. You have no chance with me. I love Conrad and I always will. I never want to be with anyone else, especially you. You make me sick with this obsession over me. I’m tired of constantly being scared of leaving my room at night because you might be there, ready to do something to me. I just want you to leave Conrad and me alone.”
I was breathing hard, trying to hold back the physical anger I felt. This was the best night of my life, and Damien just ruined it by bursting in here when he had no right to. I was ready to smash my fist into a brick wall.
“What are you talking about? You kissed me; didn’t it mean anything to you?”
I froze. I’d never told Conrad about the time I’d kissed Damien because he promised he’d leave me alone, and now he had to find out the hard way.
Conrad’s shoulders physically tensed as well, turning to face me so quickly I thought his neck would break.
“What is he talking about?” He demanded through clenched teeth, his eyes burning a hole into the side of my head. I squeezed my eyes shut and bit my lip to keep the angry tears from flowing from my eyes.
“I wanted to tell you, I really did, but I didn’t know how, and he just —“
“So it’s true? You actually kissed him?” His voice rose higher with every question. “Please, tell me this is a joke.”
He waited in tense silence for me to say something, but I didn’t know what to tell him. He found out the truth in the worst way possible, all because I was too stupid to tell him as soon as it happened—or better yet not kissed him at all. I should have known it was a trap just to get me to kiss Damien as soon as he said it. I should have been smart and said no.
I was too shocked and upset to say anything more.
“So, what? You’re just going to stand there and fucking cry? You won’t even attempt to explain yourself?” Conrad hissed. I couldn’t be mad at him. He had every right to be mad at me.
“Don’t talk to her like that!” Damien bellowed, shoving his brother by the shoulders. Taken by surprise, Conrad stumbled back a few steps, but caught himself before he fell.
“Don’t tell me what to do! You’re the last person on this planet to be telling anyone what to do! You make me fucking sick, Damien. I’m completely ashamed to be related to you. Chasing after the women I fall in love with just because you can’t have them? Are you jealous of me—jealous that I’m happy and you’re not? Is that why you feel the need to chase away everything good that happens to me?” Conrad screamed. He stepped closer and closer to Damien, until their noses were practically touching because they were so close. Anger radiated off the both of them.
“He made a deal with me.”
Both of their eyes snapped to me as I said this.
I was sick of constantly living in fear of Damien. I hated the fact that he seemed to always know where I was and how to get under my skin and convince me to do something for him, in trade for my being left alone. It was time to tell the truth, even if it didn’t benefit me at all.
“The day that Caroline and I went shopping at the mall, after you and Damien had a fight, and we went to your room. Remember how I left for a few minutes to change out of the dress I’d been wearing?” Conrad nodded stiffly. “When I got back into my room, he’d been waiting there for me,” I glanced at Damien’s blank expression. He had an odd look, like his mind had left him and it was just his physical body. I continued my explanation.
“He pinned me against the wall—“
“Why didn’t you—“
I interrupted Conrad since I already knew what he stopped me to ask, “I couldn’t scream. He put his hand over my mouth. He told me to listen to what he had to say, so I did. I thought maybe it might be something good. He tried to convince me you were lying to me, that you were just using me for sex. When I told him I knew you weren’t, he told me he’d make a deal with me.” I dropped my eyes to the floor, too angry with myself to look Conrad in the eye.
“He promised me that if I kissed him for ten seconds, he’d give up on me and stop trying to ruin our relationship. I only said yes because I thought he was telling the truth! I didn’t think he would lie about something like that! I did it so we could be together without any more problems, and I should’ve told you as soon as it happened. I shouldn’t have even done it. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
My knees were shaking. It felt like the weight of the world had dropped onto my shoulders, and I was struggling with every ounce of my body to hold it up.
“You still kissed him. Willingly, too. You cheated on me, Marley. I… I can’t even look at you right now.” His voice cracked when he reached the end of the sentence. The hot tears poured faster and stronger down my cheeks and my heart stopped beating. My stomach felt like it was about to fall out of my butt, and the lump in my throat made it hard to breathe.
If this is what heart break feels like, I’d never wish it upon anyone.
I cast my gaze back up to his face, just in time to see the single droplet escape his eye and descend down his face. He flicked it away before anyone else saw.
I threw my most furious glare at Damien. “Get the hell out of my sight. I don’t ever want to see you again, Damien.”
He looked at me, an undeterminable emotion in his eyes, as he nodded once and fast-walked out of the restaurant the way he came. I was slightly surprised he listened to me.
“I’m out of here.”
Conrad pivoted around and began to strut out. I chased after him hopelessly, all eyes still trained on us.
“Please, let me explain more! Let me beg for forgiveness! I’ll do anything, Conrad, just don’t—“
I couldn’t tell him to not leave me. It was hopeless. I’d made a stupid decision and now I was paying the consequences. It was selfish and stupid of me to beg him not to be mad at me. I deserved all of his fury.
He hesitated at my silence, but kept trekking out of the restaurant, through the front door, and out of my sight while I stood there frozen in my spot.
It was then that I realized everyone was staring at me. Still.
“What do you want? Do you think this is funny, or something? Mind your own damn business!” I ordered. Everyone faced forward once more and some actually hung their heads in shame. I would have never said something like that if I’d been thinking rationally.
I walked out of the restaurant, fully aware of my terrible appearance. Cameras flashed even brighter than they seemed to on their way in. They shouted questions at me, but it was all a blur.
I made my way off the restaurant property, and went all the way down to the corner where a cheap gas station was placed. I stomped into the convenience store, ignoring the strange looks I got, and made my way into the aisles. I dug around in my clutch for my cell phone, finding it in mere seconds.
I scrolled through my recent calls list and landed on the number I was looking for. The phone rang three times before someone picked up.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Bethany, I need you to pick me up,” I mumbled through my tears. My voice was thick and probably very hard to understand.
“I’ll be there in five minutes. Where are you at?”